4.  The applicant was born in 1936 and lives in Konstancin Jeziorna, Poland.
5.  The applicant’s grandfather (“J.O.”) owned a plot of land and a house situated in the centre of Warsaw. During the Second World War the house was demolished. By virtue of the 1945 Decree on the Ownership and Use of Land in Warsaw (Dekret o własności i użytkowaniu gruntów na obszarze m. st. Warszawy) all land in Warsaw was nationalised. In 1948 J.O. asked the administrative authorities to grant him a right of temporary ownership (własność czasowa) of his plot. On 24 December 1951 the Board of the Warsaw National Council (Prezydium Rady Narodowej) dismissed his application.
6.  On 6 August 1993 the applicant and other J.O.’s heirs filed with the Minister of Town and Country Planning (Ministerstwo Gospodarki Przestrzennej i Budownictwa) an application for the annulment of the decision of 1951. They also asked for a right of perpetual use (użytkowanie wieczyste) of the plot in question to be granted to them. On 27 February 1995 the Minister quashed the 1951 decision and remitted the case to the Mayor of Warsaw (Prezydent Miasta Warszawy) for re-examination.
7.  By June 1996 the Mayor had not delivered any decision. On 4 June 1996 the applicant lodged with the Warsaw Self-Governmental Board of Appeal (Samorządowe Kolegium Odwoławcze) a complaint alleging inactivity on the part of the Mayor of Warsaw.
8.  On 31 July 1996 the Mayor stayed the proceedings until the applicant had submitted certain documents. On 13 August 1996, upon a further appeal by the applicant, the Board of Appeal quashed that decision. On 14 August 1996 the Board of Appeal ordered the Mayor to give a decision within 30 days. The Mayor failed to comply with this order.
9.  On 13 September 1996 the Mayor of Warsaw asked the Board of Appeal to extend the time-limit as he needed to obtain some additional documents. On 30 September 1996 the Mayor asked for an extension of the time-limit until 30 November 1996.
10.  On 15 November 1996 the Mayor again stayed the proceedings, this time until the conclusion of other administrative proceedings. On 13 February 1997, upon the applicant’s appeal, the Board of Appeal quashed that decision and ordered the Mayor to proceed with the case.
11.  On 11 March 1997 the Mayor refused the application for the grant of the right of perpetual use of the plot concerned. The applicant appealed. On 2 July 1997 the Board of Appeal set aside the first-instance decision and remitted the case.
12.  On 27 October 1997 the Mayor of Warsaw for the second time refused the application for the grant of the right of perpetual use. On 25 February 1998 the Board of Appeal again quashed this decision and remitted the case.
13.  Meanwhile, on 5 August 1997 the applicant lodged a complaint with the Supreme Administrative Court (Naczelny Sąd Administracyjny), alleging inactivity on the part of the Mayor of Warsaw. On 12 October 1998 the Supreme Administrative Court delivered a judgment in which it ordered the Mayor to issue a decision within 30 days and awarded the applicant 5 PLN for costs and expenses.
14.  On 14 December 1998 the Mayor stayed the proceedings until the conclusion of the administrative proceedings concerning the transfer of ownership to the Warsaw Municipality and the adoption of a local master plan (Miejscowy plan zagospodarowania przestrzennego). Upon the applicant’s appeal, the Board of Appeal upheld this decision on 23 April 1999. On 14 March 2000 the Supreme Administrative Court confirmed the decision of 14 December 1998 and dismissed the applicant’s further appeal.
15.  Subsequently, the applicant asked the Supreme Administrative Court to impose a fine on the Mayor of Warsaw. In its judgment of 6 December 1999 the Supreme Administrative Court dismissed his application. The court held that the Mayor had failed to comply with the judgment of 12 October 1998 for objectively justified reasons. The Mayor’s decision had depended on the conclusion of other administrative proceedings concerning the transfer of ownership to the Warsaw Municipality and the adoption of a local master plan. In addition, the court pointed out that, according to Section 31 § 4 of the 1995 Act, a party to proceedings who sustained damage as a result of a failure of the administrative body to act was entitled to claim compensation from the administrative authority concerned, according to principles of civil liability.
16.  The proceedings were stayed and are thus pending before the Mayor of Warsaw.